Instructional Objectives:
Students will be able to:
1. Define mass and gravity.
2. Comprehend that the more mass something has the more gravitational pull it has.
3. Apply the idea that the more mass something has the greater the gravitational pull to the moon and
the planets.
Time and Activity:
Day One:
20 min - Introducing the ideas of mass and gravity to the students. To start the class I will take a vote
of who thinks they will weigh less on the moon and who thinks they will weigh more. I will then ask
why. I will then talk about how gravitational pull of the Sun and the planets keep them all in orbit. I will
also talk about how the pull of gravity has an effect on how much we weigh.
10 min - Once I have gone over the ideas of gravity and the effect mass has on it. They will receive a
worksheet that lets them figure out how much they weigh on the moon and the seven other planets in
the solar system.
20 min - With the last part of the class they will perform an experiment where they jump five times and
measure their jump each time. They then take the average and divide it by the gravity of the moon to
see how far they would jump on the moon. They will do this calculations for all seven plants also. Day Two:
20 min - The students will come in and we will talk about the results they found from the calculations
that they did. We will talk about whether or not they thought that its was what they thought would
happen or if it was different and why. I will then stress the how this relates to the gravitational pull of the
Sun and the planets.
10 min - They will write three claims and evidence.
20 min - They will have the remaining time to write a conclusion. I will walk around to help students
that are having any problems.
Assignment:
- The students will have some minor calculations and they will have to write a conclusion in their
scientist notebooks.
Materials:
- Worksheet
- Masking tape
- Rulers
- Calculators Resources:
Terri Medieros Riverside Middle School, East Providence RI
Unit: Astronomy
Topic: Gravity
Instructional Objectives:
Students will be able to:
1. Define mass and gravity.
2. Comprehend that the more mass something has the more gravitational pull it has.
3. Apply the idea that the more mass something has the greater the gravitational pull to the moon and
the planets.
Time and Activity:
Day One:
20 min - Introducing the ideas of mass and gravity to the students. To start the class I will take a vote
of who thinks they will weigh less on the moon and who thinks they will weigh more. I will then ask
why. I will then talk about how gravitational pull of the Sun and the planets keep them all in orbit. I will
also talk about how the pull of gravity has an effect on how much we weigh.
10 min - Once I have gone over the ideas of gravity and the effect mass has on it. They will receive a
worksheet that lets them figure out how much they weigh on the moon and the seven other planets in
the solar system.
20 min - With the last part of the class they will perform an experiment where they jump five times and
measure their jump each time. They then take the average and divide it by the gravity of the moon to
see how far they would jump on the moon. They will do this calculations for all seven plants also.
Day Two:
20 min - The students will come in and we will talk about the results they found from the calculations
that they did. We will talk about whether or not they thought that its was what they thought would
happen or if it was different and why. I will then stress the how this relates to the gravitational pull of the
Sun and the planets.
10 min - They will write three claims and evidence.
20 min - They will have the remaining time to write a conclusion. I will walk around to help students
that are having any problems.
Assignment:
- The students will have some minor calculations and they will have to write a conclusion in their
scientist notebooks.
Materials:
- Worksheet
- Masking tape
- Rulers
- Calculators
Resources:
Terri Medieros Riverside Middle School, East Providence RI